


Ring

by kingkongbway



Category: Arthur (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Homophobia, Internalized Homophobia, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-22
Updated: 2019-06-22
Packaged: 2020-05-16 14:00:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19319620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kingkongbway/pseuds/kingkongbway
Summary: Mr. Ratburn gets engaged, but that brings up a whole new set of problems.





	Ring

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this just about a year before the episode where Mr. Ratburn got married aired! So it doesn't fit in canon anymore. *shrugs* I guess that serves me right for waiting so long... 
> 
> I wrote this, and a few other fics, in response to a terrible, homophobic Arthur fic I read on ff.net that made me feel so awful that I decided to write like a million fics where Mr. Ratburn gets to be gay and also happy at the same time. But first I wanted to write this one, which is most directly inspired by the awful fic I read because it's basically the direction that I wanted that fic to go.
> 
> I also decided to make it exactly 1000 words.
> 
> I hope you enjoy it!

And he supposed he couldn’t keep it quiet forever. He didn’t really want to anyway. It had been one thing when they were dating, but lying about it through their engagement… Was he supposed to keep pretending to be single after they were married? And what about when they finally decided whether he was moving to New York or staying in Elwood City? If he stayed, would they fake cousins for the rest of their lives? He couldn’t imagine not being able to hold his husband’s hand in front of anyone ever again.

But the consequences…

Mr. Ratburn turned the ring around and around in his hand, a growing sense of unease tickling his whiskers. The consequences… That was what kept him quiet whenever one of his students asked if he was married, what made him drive at least half an hour out of Elwood to meet up with anyone, what never let him drop his guard. He shouldn’t have gone into teaching. Some days he’d end up in gasping tears over his lunch break because he was terrified that he’d misjudged himself. He knew he’d never hurt a child, but it never seemed that anyone else was so sure.

He’d hear the talk, about how “the gays shouldn’t be in schools” and “I swear, I have no problem with it, just not around my kid.” They’d taught it at school when he was young. The dangers of the homosexuals; perpetual predators, perpetual pariahs. The worst part was how Mr. Ratburn had thought he’d found himself. First in math, then in gay bars, then in teaching, then in his fiancé. Yet the fear still crept in. Perpetual predator, perpetual pariah.

He gripped his ring, his engagement ring, the representation of his love and his future, and went to sit down on the couch. It was a good thing he’d woken up early, though it looked like those papers weren’t getting graded before class like he’d hoped. The crux of it was that, though he sometimes feared he was if he stood too close, he knew he wasn’t a pedophile, but his students’ parents might not. His employer might not. His colleagues might not. And, worst of all, this scared him to think about, worst of all, his students might not.

If his students’ parents thought he might hurt their children, after meeting him maybe three times and seeing him around town, that was one thing. That was a bigoted worldview, a stereotype, a societal message at best. Mr. Ratburn knew he had internalized and struggled with that message enough himself, and he didn’t expect them to have done the same work to oust it. Their opinion would be based on gross generalizations and factual inaccuracies. (Truthfully, straight men are more likely to sexually abuse young boys than gay men. Straight women are almost as likely to sexually abuse young boys as gay men, at least from references of reported abuse. Boys are less likely to report sexual abuse, especially if abused by a woman.)

But if his students thought it… If any of his students genuinely thought he might hurt them, or ever think about hurting them… Mr. Ratburn was not unaware that his strict policies and teaching style made him come across as intimidating, but the idea that one of his students could think he was dangerous made him sick. To his knowledge, none of his students thought it. But if he was openly gay? Would that change things?

So maybe it was best to lie about it. It wasn’t really lying anyway. Being closeted for your own protection was never lying. He’d rather not be, especially not with the implication that it would have to be permanent if he wanted to stay in Elwood City, but he was willing to do what he had to. His fiancé wouldn’t like it, but he would understand.

Mr. Ratburn sighed and opened his hand to look at the ring. It might have to go away for a long time. That was a shame. It was just a simple gold band, but it meant so much more. He wished he had someone to ask for advice. He could always call Rodentia, he supposed, but things were different for her, and she was Rodentia, and she wouldn’t be able to give him clear-headed and reliable advice. It had been him and Rodentia for as long as he could remember, but that had changed after she pulled her disappearing act, and he had changed before she finally reappeared… He wished he knew a gay teacher. He wished he’d had a gay teacher.

And that was it. What if one of his students was gay? What if one of his students needed a role model like him? He’d always striven to set a good example for his students. Was forcing himself into the closet because of his mostly-unfounded fears a good example? Did he want Arthur, or Sue Ellen, or Buster, or Francine to grow up to do the same? Did he want George, or Muffy, or Alan, or Maria to think that there was something shameful about themselves? Of course he didn’t. He could be the gay teacher that inspired his students to accept themselves or accept their peers. Or he could be the gay teacher that got himself kicked out of teaching because he made the wrong decision. Was that risk worth it?

Was he worth it? Was his happiness worth it?

All these questions. He glanced at the clock for a time check. Seven twelve. He should at least have been eating breakfast, if not getting in the car. Yet there he was, sitting on his couch and trying to make big decisions about his future.

New York was an option, if Elwood didn’t work out. They could convince him to resign, but they couldn’t bar him from teaching without any charges. It was worth it. Mr. Ratburn gently slipped the ring onto his finger, took a deep breath, and got up.


End file.
